Stick with Mac or move to Windows?

[MirrorProfiles]

The nice thing about Macs is that I've rarely felt or encountered any sort of need to upgrade one and they've always maintained a much longer useful life than most PCs I've had, much unlike the never ending rabbit hole/money pit when one gets into PC building




If I was still into gaming I'd definitely be rocking a home built PC, but for literally any other application I vastly prefer apple


"sadly posted from my HP work laptop"

This all over. I’m on my 3rd Mac which I’ve used professionally day in day out. Each one has lasted almost 10 years, and when I’ve replaced them, they’ve still worked well (it’s typically been interfaces and other peripherals that have forced the change).

There is a higher initial outlay and upgrading components is harder (so you have to plan a bit more in advance). In return, things work without headaches and they’ll be reliable for a long time.

If you’re into tweaking and upgrading and hunting down issues and dealing with weirdness, something DIY can be a fun project.

 

[JasonE]

I can't say the Mac has been without it's issues. Every time it had an OS upgrade my stuff would not work correctly. I would have to try to track down drivers for things and sometimes have to hobble it along until a manufacturer finally got a new driver out to address an issue the new OS had with it.

 

[norminal]

It is the building what looks to be disposable computers from Apple that bothers me.

You could easily get over 10 years out of the new M4 Macs before needing to upgrade. Buy once, cry once.

 

[JCW308]

MacBook Air with an M2 processor would be fine (and cheap).

 

[norminal]

I can't say the Mac has been without its issues. Every time it had an OS upgrade my stuff would not work correctly. I would have to try to track down drivers for things and sometimes have to hobble it along until a manufacturer finally got a new driver out to address an issue the new OS had with it.

The issue with Apple is that they encourage you to update your system every time an os update is released. As a professional, I turn off all auto-update and do not update unless I am 100% certain is won’t break my existing applications.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

It’s rare the updates add anything, and then usually you have to wait for all your software to be updated so it’s stable. Best to just leave things alone unless you have to update, and then to tread carefully. The years OS updates barely add anything useful and largely they just go back and forth on changing small things around.

 

[JasonE]

MacBook Air with an M2 processor would be fine (and cheap).

Looking at the MacBook Air on their site, it doesn't have any USB ports. It only has 2 Thunderbolt ports. That won't work for me. I have at least one external drive that I am sure I will have to connect.

From what I am seeing this is probably going to cost me at least $3500 because the MacBook Pro looks like it would last me the longest. I am not sure on which processor so far and I am leaning toward the 1 TB drive. I hate the low amount of drive space in my current MacBook Pro. It has a 500 GB drive in it and I have less than 200 GB free. I try very hard not to put anything on the internal drive that I don't have to and it is still that full. I don't have a bunch of extra software on this thing either. Without the 2 TB external I have connected to it I would have completely run out of space a long time ago.

 

[norminal]

It only has 2 Thunderbolt ports.

Those also work as USB-C ports.

 

[JasonE]

You could easily get over 10 years out of the new M4 Macs before needing to upgrade. Buy once, cry once.

I have had my current machine over 9 years. I haven't quite hit the 10 year mark yet.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

However, if I needed to upgrade something I would rather be able to do that and not have to buy another computer.

Exactly. My current PC build is only 2 years old, but when the hardware starts slipping off the "performance viability" peak (as all computers inevitably do), I can easily replace one, two, any or all components.

I could add a couple more sticks of memory...

I could buy a new gen video card...

I could swap in a new gen motherboard, latest intel cpu (or AMD for AMD fans) and latest memory and keep everything else... etc

PC =

 

[spawnofthesith]

Exactly. My current PC build is only 2 years old, but when the hardware starts slipping off the "performance viability" peak (as all computers inevitably do), I can easily replace one, two, any or all components.

I could add a couple more sticks of memory...

I could buy a new gen video card...

I could swap in a new gen motherboard, latest intel cpu (or AMD for AMD fans) and latest memory and keep everything else... etc

PC =

This is true, but how many times have you effectively rebuilt the entire computer in a 10 year span? And what's the total all in cost after 10 years?

 

[JasonE]

This is true, but how many times have you effectively rebuilt the entire computer in a 10 year span? And what's the total all in cost after 10 years?

That is what I am trying to get down to. Add on software cost if I switched over. I can honestly work with either platform without any issues. I know either will do what I need. It is the overall cost that I am trying to work out.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

This is true, but how many times have you effectively rebuilt the entire computer in a 10 year span? And what's the total all in cost after 10 years?

IIRC 2 years ago I rebuilt this PC (2022). And before that, it was 2014.

Off the top of my head, it cost me approximately $2-3K to rebuild it (replace everything but case, PSU, case fans, monitors) 2 years ago... and the graphics card (NVIDIA 3070TI OC) was a major percentage of that (remember the shitty years not long ago when the graphics cards went sky-high pricing... and seem to have stayed at that shitty price point): almost $1K just for the graphics card.

If we're counting the 2014 rebuild (which was actually the entire computer; which I built to replace my aging old one) that was about the same: $2-3K.

So for this "latest" upgrade schedule trend of mine, approximately every 8 years I'm shelling out $2-3K for next-to-cutting-edge PC tech (I never buy the very very best bleeding edge PC tech, only the "2nd" best; per se).

And I could easily squeeze out a few more years (like mentioned) if I wanted to and really stretch the dollars by say, getting a new video card (~$1K), new motherboard with bells n whistles, CPU, appropriate memory, (~$1K) etc

That last part? Can't do that at all with a Mac. Generally speaking, you simply can't buy a Mac motherboard (say for example, the presumed "M6" MOBO) with all the latest bells n whistles to replace your aging Mac's MOBO (say, the current "M4" MOBO). Also, AFAIK, Apple absolutely does not license their tech so, for ex., 3rd party MOBO manufacturers can make their own Apple MOBOs and sell to the public. Not to mention replacing the "video card" (they don't have one; built into the logic board), etc.

You're stuck with the thing; frozen in technological time so to speak from the point when you purchased it. Once that "performance viability" clock runs out, you're forced to buy a brand new one (at the usual crazy premium Apple price) because they made it so your hands are tied with no other options.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

Speaking of value for your $, I'm going to highlight this previous vid (which was somewhat tucked away in text).

This PC build has overall about the same performance (in some cases, better) as a Mac Studio M2 Ultra - for half the cost.

The other huge benefit? You could replace or upgrade any item in the case at any point in time. Also, it's liquid cooled.

Mac Studio M2 Ultra Performance at Half the Cost​

 

[Frodebro]

I have been using Logic Pro since 2009, and have very happily stayed with that platform because it's very familiar to me. My old MacBook Pro (mid 2015, quad core Intel 2.5GHz/16GB RAM) was always just barely able to keep up with some of my more extensive projects. Just last week I upgraded to a new MacBook Pro with the 14 core, 4.5GHz M4 Pro chip, 24GB RAM, and a 1TB internal drive. I also picked up a Samsung 4TB external SSD, and it holds all of my Kontakt library and projects.

As a test, I loaded one of my projects that maxed out my old MacBook, and the CPU meter on the new machine is barely tickling 5% across the cores. I'm a very happy camper, because now I have enough horsepower to go totally stupid. It cost a few bucks, sure, but I have absolutely zero regrets. It's worth it to me to not have to start all over with a new DAW.

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

IIRC 2 years ago I rebuilt this PC (2022). And before that, it was 2014.

Off the top of my head, it cost me approximately $2-3K to rebuild it (replace everything but case, PSU, case fans, monitors) 2 years ago... and the graphics card (NVIDIA 3070TI OC) was a major percentage of that (remember the shitty years not long ago when the graphics cards went sky-high pricing... and seem to have stayed at that shitty price point): almost $1K just for the graphics card.

If we're counting the 2014 rebuild (which was actually the entire computer; which I built to replace my aging old one) that was about the same: $2-3K.

So for this "latest" upgrade schedule trend of mine, approximately every 8 years I'm shelling out $2-3K for next-to-cutting-edge PC tech (I never buy the very very best bleeding edge PC tech, only the "2nd" best; per se).

And I could easily squeeze out a few more years (like mentioned) if I wanted to and really stretch the dollars by say, getting a new video card (~$1K), new motherboard with bells n whistles, CPU, appropriate memory, (~$1K) etc

That last part? Can't do that at all with a Mac. Generally speaking, you simply can't buy a Mac motherboard (say for example, the presumed "M6" MOBO) with all the latest bells n whistles to replace your aging Mac's MOBO (say, the current "M4" MOBO). Also, AFAIK, Apple absolutely does not license their tech so, for ex., 3rd party MOBO manufacturers can make their own Apple MOBOs and sell to the public. Not to mention replacing the "video card" (they don't have one; built into the logic board), etc.

You're stuck with the thing; frozen in technological time so to speak from the point when you purchased it. Once that "performance viability" clock runs out, you're forced to buy a brand new one (at the usual crazy premium Apple price) because they made it so your hands are tied with no other options.

That is more or less the same boat I ride in! Build from 2015 took me to 2023, and the only reason I did a new partial build in 2023 was because a contractor here at the house, fried my MB with a power surge from one of his saws. Otherwise, I would probably be still running that 2015 build. Cost me less than 2K, but I did upgrade RAM from 32GB to 64GB which I think cost me $150 or something, and went for a new video card in 2020 that cost me ~$400 (which I then used on this '23 build). I doubt that this build however will last me 8 years though considering how fast things are moving, but I sure love having the 4 M.2 slots on this board ;~)) Just got a 4TB M.2 to upgrade one of the slots (and I will take that M.2 I am removing and put it in one of my laptops for more M.2 storage when traveling).

As for drivers, updates, etc., has not bothered me nor do I have to spend more than a couple hours a year (if that) doing any such things unless I get new equipment or start hooking things up differently.

Point is, I will take the ability to build and customize my system over any advantages that I am aware of that Apple products offer, both real and perceived ;~))

 

[HomespunEffects]

This all over. I’m on my 3rd Mac which I’ve used professionally day in day out. Each one has lasted almost 10 years, and when I’ve replaced them, they’ve still worked well (it’s typically been interfaces and other peripherals that have forced the change).

There is a higher initial outlay and upgrading components is harder (so you have to plan a bit more in advance). In return, things work without headaches and they’ll be reliable for a long time.

I average about 12 years per Mac. On the other hand, I built a windows machine that needs replacing 4 years later.

I’m really done with windows constant upgrades, whether you want or not, randomness, drivers suddenly not working, printers working … sometimes, etc. I’m just sick of windows.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

and the only reason I did a new partial build in 2023 was because a contractor here at the house, fried my MB with a power surge from one of his saws.

Ugh.

Solution:

Eaton - ISOBAR6 | Eaton

tripplite.eaton.com

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

Ugh.

Solution:

Eaton - ISOBAR6 | Eaton

tripplite.eaton.com

Yeah, my UPS needed new batteries, so computer was plugged directly into the wall. Totally my fault for not having proper precautions in place, and certainly not the build or windows fault in any way ;~((

 

[JCW308]

Looking at the MacBook Air on their site, it doesn't have any USB ports. It only has 2 Thunderbolt ports. That won't work for me. I have at least one external drive that I am sure I will have to connect.

From what I am seeing this is probably going to cost me at least $3500 because the MacBook Pro looks like it would last me the longest. I am not sure on which processor so far and I am leaning toward the 1 TB drive. I hate the low amount of drive space in my current MacBook Pro. It has a 500 GB drive in it and I have less than 200 GB free. I try very hard not to put anything on the internal drive that I don't have to and it is still that full. I don't have a bunch of extra software on this thing either. Without the 2 TB external I have connected to it I would have completely run out of space a long time ago.

Mine has two USB-C ports. It is stellar for recording.